Being a nursing major can be stressful and demanding. It's different then any other major. I think nursing students everywhere can definitely agree that it's hard work and can be challenging at times. To think about becoming a registered nurse and going to work everyday able to help people is very exciting, but every nurse has to go to nursing school first. These ten truths of nursing school may be some things every nursing student has in common.
1. Do you volunteer as tribute?
Being a nursing student means practice...a lot of practice. You'll practice on any volunteer you can get. Anybody willing to give their arm to let you practice taking their blood pressure or pulse is your new best friend. Your roommates, friends and family turn into patients and become your guinea pigs.
2. Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody has those days.
As a nursing student, you have to continually remind yourself that it's okay to make mistakes. I think we can all agree that we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to get things right. But it's good to remember that we are students and we are just learning. It's okay to make mistakes as long as we learn from them. The mistakes that we make now will help us become a better nurse in the future.
3. Can I drug myself?
When you have lab competencies, lecture exams, case studies, and
lab write ups on top of other work from your gen ed classes all due in the same week, you're wishing you're the patient that's being hopped up on drugs.
4. Don't worry, be happy (yeah, right)
We never stop worrying. No matter how much we try, we will never be able to stop. We are constantly worrying about our grades and our assignments. And after we graduate, we will continue to worry about our patients. Worrying is a part of being a nurse.
5. Is McDonalds hiring?
I think the majority of us think about quitting at least once a week. Personally I think about changing my major five times a day. We get one bad grade and think we'll be spending the rest of our life working at McDonald's and living with 15 cats.
6. Dear Professors
We probably hate you 99.9% of the time. We hate when you schedule the final competency for the same week as the final exam. Or when you assign another lab write up on top of all of our other work. The worst part is when we ask a question and the response is "I'll let you look that up." You're the teacher...teach us!! But even when we hate you most of the time, we'll probably be thanking you some day for teaching us how to become the nurse we want to be.
7. Studying, studying and more studying
If you're a nursing major then you probably spend the majority of your time studying. Every major requires hours of studying, but in nursing you need to know so many medical terms, diseases and drugs. You need to memorize health tests and assessments. The nursing school at almost every college has certain standards you need to withhold putting more pressure on us. All of the nursing majors I know spend more time in the library than anywhere else. When we're not studying we're thinking about how we need to be studying.
8. You're the "nurse" to your friends
As a nursing major, you receive calls and texts from all your friends asking what's wrong with them anytime they have a health problem. If they have a cold or a rash or a sore throat, they instantly text the group chat looking for their "nursing friends" to come through and diagnose them.
9. Nervous Breakdown #11? or #12?
Every nursing student has had a breakdown at one time or another (or maybe several). There's been times where I've called my mom in tears because I'm so stressed out and I'm sure I'm not the only one. I need to be reminded all the time that everything will be okay, that I will graduate and I will become a nurse.
10. "Oh happy day!"
When we pass a test or finish the semester with a good GPA it's definitely time to celebrate. I can honestly say I am happiest when I find out my hard work is paying off. Nothing puts a nursing major in a better mood than being rewarded for their hard work, and I can definitely say that no one is happier when the semester is finally over than us.
Although being a nursing student is extremely hard work, it's also very exciting. Knowing that some day you're going to be a registered nurse making a difference in your patient's lives is exciting. You see videos on the internet and hear stories about how amazing nurses are, and you can't wait to be able to call yourself a nurse. I know when that day comes, it will make all the studying, tests and breakdowns worth it. Nurses are such amazing people and I will never be more proud then when I can officially call myself a registered nurse.
